wonderful. blogged about it here.
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not nearly as well known as the Little House series, but an excellent read about family and frontier life in 19th-century america. beautifully written. probably my favorite book of the year.
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the language is advanced, but i was surprised by how this one held the children's attention. could be a new december tradition for us. (the one i linked to, with illustrations by Lisbeth Zwerger, is really, really lovely.)
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got distracted and didn't finish, but the children have been asking to go back to it.
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a bit Harry Potter-esque. just started the third book and the children look forward to it every evening.
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translated from the original italian. the children got really emotionally invested in this one. ("noooo, pinoccchio!!!") highly recommend.
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also a bit Harry Potter-esque, though perhaps not as dark? (i confess to not having actually read past the third Harry (i know--gasp!) but that is my impression.) liv and i read this on our own, without asher. we finished the series and then she promptly started back at the beginning on her own. incidentally, she also enjoyed The Candy Shop War by the same author.
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The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place
i might prefer this one as a solo read--some of the language makes it a bit cumbersome as a read-aloud--but the children enjoyed it. funny and mysterious, with a cliff-hanger at the end. book two comes out in february.
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edit: how could i forget about The Hundred and One Dalmations? this is a charming read. you'll recognize the plot from the disney animated film but, of course, there's more detail, including a sub-plot with a happy surprise at the end. the children found the description of the villainous Cruella de Vil particularly memorable: "she tasted of pepper" (a crime worse than anything in asher's book).
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